Hide and Seek, Dine and Dash
by Vellaunus
Summary: Alphys receives some surprising company while out to dinner alone.


Hello, everyone! I hope 2016 has been going well for you so far.  
This is just something I wrote in a flash of inspiration, and because there is a dismal lack of Alphyne stuff around. So, I hope you enjoy and have a great day!

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Ah, dinner alone. A prospect Dr. Alphys was familiar with. Whether it was a simple bag of potato chips illuminated by the light of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie playing on her TV or a plate of spaghetti lit by candles in a high class restaurant, it was likely that she was eating on her own. Not that she minded too much—she wasn't exactly a social butterfly-though at the moment she was more than a little disappointed. Her friend Mettaton was supposed to meet her here an hour ago to discuss plans for his new body, and it seemed as though he was a no-show. He hadn't even bothered to text her an excuse—though she was sure that if he ever did explain, she would have to drag an apology out of him. Alphys stared at the spaghetti like she was trying to burn a hole through it with her eyes, stirring it with a fork a few times before casting her gaze around the establishment.

The whole scenario made her wildly uncomfortable. Of course Mettaton had to stand her up when she was worried that he was growing distant. In fact, when he had suggested this dinner, she was excited, hoping that they would be able to hang out like they used to, before he became a star. However, any reprieve she had had from her feelings of inadequacy was long gone within the first 10 minutes of Mettaton's absence. And now that the restaurant was getting packed, the fact that she was sitting there all alone was thrown into sharp relief. Everywhere she looked, there were couples making googly eyes over their lasagna, parents trying to keep their kids in line, and friends joking around together. The whole thing had eliminated her appetite entirely. Several waiters and waitresses had passed by asking if she was alright, to which she gave them a polite nod, hoping they wouldn't notice the sweat beading on her forehead. The small lizard just wanted to sink into the floor and disappear. As a result, she didn't really care enough to look up when the door burst open with a loud crash, and didn't really wonder what was going on until someone sat in the chair in front of her. All she could think was that she really didn't want to have to correct whoever had made this mistake. Already the idea of confrontation was making her claws shake. She took a deep breath and looked up, taken aback by the sight of a tall, humanoid fish monster.

She wore a black tanktop, which showed off her muscular shoulders and arms, and though she was definitely strong, her build wasn't hulking, more tall and lean. Her bright red hair was tied back in a ponytail, and one of her eyes was covered by a black eyepatch. She was definitely attractive, if in a swashbuckling, badass heroine sort of way. She stared at Alphys with a burning intensity, before glancing over the lizard's shoulder and leaning forward.

"Hey. I need your help." Alphys was confused.

"Ma'am, I think you have the wrong—" The unknown monster cut her off with a wave of her hand, looking behind Alphys once more before speaking again.

"Listen. I'm in the middle of a game of hide and seek, and things kind of got intense. So, I need you to pretend that we're here together so I won't stick out." This hurried explanation only served to confuse Alphys more, and she was puzzled enough to respond with a question.

"Hide and seek? B-but, you're older than me…" The stranger shrugged.

"My friend really likes it. So, are you in or are you out?" Did she really have a choice? Alphys had never been good at confrontation.

"Uh, sure." The monster gave her a wide, fanged grin. She leaned back, though kept her head low to the table, presumably hiding behind Alphys in case her pursuers came in.

"Thanks a ton! Say, what's your name?" She asked cheerily.

"D..Dr. Alphys." The stranger's eyes widened. Oh no. Did she recognize her? Alphys didn't remember any experiments on a fish monster, but it seemed as though this stranger knew who she was.

"No way! You're the new royal scientist?" Alphys nodded shakily, expecting the worst.

"That's so cool!" Huh? That wasn't at all the kind of reaction she was used to. The monster looked like she genuinely meant it, too. "I'm not very good at the whole science-y thing. You must be super smart, huh?" Alphys felt a glow of warmth at the compliment before it was whipped away by her self doubt.

"Well…not really. I haven't really accomplished anything good yet. And I think, um, I think that Asgore should have picked someone else…I just hurt people." Undyne's smile didn't waver, though her gaze softened a little. She reached out to pat her on the shoulder in a comforting gesture. For someone clearly so strong, it was a gentle gesture.

"Hey, if you haven't accomplished anything yet, that just means your best days are in front of you! And I know Asgore pretty well. He doesn't make any decision lightly. I'm sure he chose you because you were the best for the job. And you're not hurting anyone now! In fact, you're helping me a lot by doing this." Alphys felt a bit better after that. Of course, one monster's words weren't going to solve all of her problems, but the stranger exuded confidence, seemed so sure that she was correct that it was hard not to believe her.

"Thanks. I hope you're right. Hey, what's your na—"

"UNDYNE!" A loud voice called as the door burst open again. Alphys turned to see a tall skeleton wearing a scarf and boots calling out from the entrance, followed by a much shorter skeleton in a blue hoodie. The taller one cast his gaze around the restaurant before continuing. "I KNOW YOU ARE IN HERE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS NEVER WRONG!" He didn't seem to mind when a few patrons started giggling and whispering, though any snide looks quickly withered underneath the shorter skeleton's protective gaze. "DO NOT MIND ME, RESTAURANT PATRONS! I AM SIMPLY LOOKING FOR MY FRIEND AND MENTOR! I AM CERTAIN SHE IS HERE! SIMPLY PROCEED WITH YOUR BUSINESS AS USUAL."

"Crap. They found me." Undyne whispered, though Alphys was too taken aback by the revelation of her strange companion's identity.

"You're Undyne…Captain of the Royal Guard?" Undyne nodded.

"And you're observant. Quick, let's pretend we're in an engrossing conversation." Alphys was still a little nervous when they began to talk, and Undyne seemed to notice. As a result, the royal guardswoman would slip in casual compliments as they were talking, presumably to make Alphys feel better. And it worked. Alphys felt a small smile form on her face, and she blushed a little after one round of particularly warm praise, which seemed to please Undyne to no end. They had almost forgotten about the skeletons until the smaller one spoke up.

"i don't see her, bro."

"IMPOSSIBLE! YOU SAID YOU SAW HER ENTER THIS ESTABLISMENT!"

"i said i thought i saw her come in here."

"SANS! 'ALMOST' WON'T GET ME INTO THE ROYAL GUARD! I WILL SIMPLY HAVE TO SEARCH EVERY TABLE." Undyne groaned.

"Well, it was nice talking to you Alphys, but I'll face my fate before he gets here." She stood up, then sat back down again for a moment, pulling a pen out of her pocket and scribbling something on a napkin and handing it to the lizard. "Call me, okay? We can hang out and talk about science-y stuff or whatever else you're into. Thanks for letting me hijack your dinner." She tipped Alphys a wink—well, she thought it was a wink, though it was difficult to tell with only one eye—and stood up once more.

"HEY PAPYRUS!" She bellowed. "YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET ME WITHOUT A FIGHT!" Papyrus lobbed a bone at her, which she quickly shattered with a blue spear.

"UNDYNE! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR MY SPECIAL—"

"guys?" The short skeleton spoke up once more. "don't you think you should take this outside?" They stopped their fight, looked at each other, then sprinted outside. Alphys stifled a smile, looking back at the number on the napkin. It seemed as though dinner hadn't been so lonely after all.


End file.
